Page 229 of Phoenix's Fire

"There's nothing wrong with you," I said, because it needed to be out there. "You're funny and kind, and considerate. You're handsome and fit and..." I bit my lower lip. "You're just nice, Rymar."

"Nice isn't a good thing," he said before taking a drink. "Nice isn't exciting."

"I'm not exciting," I countered. "So maybe you're asking the wrong person?"

He hummed, swirling away from me and around me as he spiraled out. "You're very exciting. This Mole girl who just shows up, kicks ass, and saves our entire town? Ayla, that's exciting."

"And you're the deputy mayor, who can talk in front of hundreds of people," I pointed out. "And you never take credit for all the things you do." Then I paused, looking at my bottle because my thoughts felt very fuzzy. "Rymar, you're a good catch."

"Sadly, I can't seem to get caught," he said. "I'm starting to think I'm cursed. They said I was the best-looking guy in our class at school. Women tell me I'm handsome, and men say I'm sexy. But that's the problem! I'm not just..." He gestured at his face. "This! I can't fight because I was born the colors of a flower. I can't do anything but convince people to look at me while I talk!"

I moved closer, taking the bottle from his hands so I could pass him mine. "You care."

"Huh?" He looked at the bottle I'd given him. "And this one is almost empty."

"Mhm," I giggled, lifting his to take a swig. Okay, that was good too, so I tilted it for a bigger gulp. "But you care about people," I said again, my words starting to feel harder to get out than normal. "That's the thing, Rymar. People like it easy. Men!" I waved at the air. "Men want to have someone do it all for them, handle all the caring, and then they just get pampered. They fuck - " I giggled at the word because it still felt strange to say. "They want clean clothes, and food made, and just to be spoiled. But you're not like that. You cook, and clean, and organize." I gasped, pushing myself to my feet. "You're a woman!"

"Back down," he said, reaching out to push my shoulders under the water. "And I promise I'm not a woman."'

"But it's the same problem," I said before pausing for another drink.

"I need one too," he declared, making his way to the edge.

Before I realized what he was doing, Rymar had hopped out - naked - and was walking over to the bag with the wine. Without shame, the man bent over to get both of the bottles. I saw as his tail stretched out behind him, but there was something else.

"Oh my!" I gasped, spinning around when I realized what that was.

"What?" he asked.

"I didn't mean to look!" I squeaked.

That made him laugh. "Ayla, have you ever seen a man naked before?"

"No," I whimpered. "Well, parts when I healed them, but notthoseparts!"

"Are we friends?" he asked.

"Yes!" I hurried to assure him.

His voice got closer. "So that means if you want to look, it's okay," he said. "I'm not offended if you turn around."

I almost didn't. I shouldn't have, but I also couldn't think of a reason not to, because this was Rymar. He was my friend, and safe - and I was kinda curious. So, slowly, I turned around to see him standing right at the edge of the water with his crotch almost even with my eyes.

I saw all of him. The soft part hanging down. The testicles behind it. I could even see the creases at his hips and the way his color changed at his belly and inside his thighs. But as I ran my eyes over him, the part I wasn't supposed to look at was changing, standing up a little more.

"Yeah, ignore that," he said before slipping back into the water. "They do that."

"Do what?" I asked.

"Get hard when people look." He reached back to set the extra bottle within reach. "They have to so they can fit inside the body."

"Your penis?" I asked.

"Dick," he agreed. "Here's the thing. Just because it gets hard? That doesn't mean it's going to be used. Just means I need some tepid water to make it go back down."

"Are you supposed to tell me that?" I asked.

He nodded before tipping up his bottle and sucking back a big drink. "I thinkI'm supposed to tell you everything, because that's what friends do. A safe place to figure things out, right?"

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